The American laws, which began in 1938, require people acting as agents of foreign principals in a political or quasi-political capacity to disclose on a website their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as their activities, receipts and spending.

Senator Brandis said espionage, sabotage, treason and secrecy offences will be reviewed and a new category of offences criminalising certain acts of covert foreign interference introduced.

The proposed changes come after media reports earlier in the year of Chinese Communist Party influence over the Liberal and Labor parties.